Yunus launches Mary Robinson Centre in Ireland

Staff ReporterNobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus has inaugurated the Mary Robinson Centre in Ireland.President Robinson and Prof Yunus drove together to Ballina, County Mayo, 234 kilometers west of Dublin, and visited the home where President Robinson was born and grew up as a child, a Yunus Centre press release said on Tuesday.This home has been donated by the family to the City Council and converted into Mary Robinson Centre for human rights, equality and climate justice.Yunus was invited by former President of Ireland and former High Commissioner for Human Rights to inaugurate the Centre and deliver the inaugural human rights lecture of the Centre on October 17, 2014, in her home town of Ballina.Prof Yunus delivered the inaugural lecture at the well-known Mount Falcon Estate on the theme of "We can create a world without poverty, if only we want it" to a standing ovation. The lecture was delivered on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17.On October 18, Dublin City University, a top university of Ireland conferred Prof Yunus with the Doctorate in Philosophy Honoris Causa. The Dublin City University is a dynamic Irish University focused on healthcare, science and technology.The degree was conferred on Prof Yunus by the Chancellor of the University Dr Martin McAleese and the President of the University Prof Brian McGraith in a special convocation ceremony organized for this purpose attended by 400 faculty members, students, invited guests including a large number of representatives from the Bangladeshi community in Ireland, many of whom traveled from distant cities with their children to attend the event.It began with a colorful academic procession led by the Chancellor of the University. The degree was conferred after two citations on Professor Yunus' contributions were read out. Professor Yunus addressed the gathering explaining his search for solutions for poverty, unemployment and other pressing human problems.